I Guess I Love You (bughead)
by sagaholmstr
Summary: This is my first fanfiction so please help me improve my writing. Betty had just gotten rejected by the love of her live, Archie Andrews, when someone she has known since childhood, shows her what love is all about. This is a bughead fanfiction.
1. Rejection

Chapter 1

Betty smashed the door closed behind her and ran up the stairs. She had just told Archie, the boy she had loved for as long as she could remember, how she felt, but gotten rejected. She felt crushed. What angered her the most was what he had said to her, that she was perfect, too good for him. She hated that word. Perfect.

Her pink dress was damp and stained from mascara because of her tears, but she didn't care. Her mom came in her room looking Betty up and down with disgust.

"Betty, you look awful, go get changed," Alice said with a false and very extra smile on her face.

"Yes mom," Betty said with a shaky voice reaching for the perfectly folded light pink nightgown.

"Oh no Elizabeth, we haven't had supper yet, put on that blouse you got for Christmas last year"

Betty just nodded, she didn't want to argue right now, and especially not with her mother.

Alice had always tried to portray Betty as the perfect girl next door, with amazing grades and a never ending smile, but really she wasn't even close to that.

Bettys phone buzzed and she saw a text from Archie.

"Hey, I'm sorry for earlier but I still hope we can be friends"

Betty responded immediately.

"Arch, of course we're still going to be friends, but right now I need space"

Looking through her window, she saw Archie reading her text, he noticed her looking and he just nodded and turned his light off.

She felt the sob coming up her throat when her phone buzzed again. This time, it was Jughead.

"Hey, I'm at the blue and gold, can you come help me with editing some articles?"

"Why are you there this late?"

"Just come here"

She knew her mom wouldn't let her out this late, but if she mentioned the blue and gold, she might just change her mind.

"What are you working on?" She asked. "Is it your big story?"

"No mom, I'm just editing an article" Betty replied, rolling her eyes at her mothers reaction.

"Just be safe okay?"

"Yes, mom"

She was feeling odd on her way to Riverdale High, like she was being watched, but in the middle of worrying, she got a text from Jughead.

"Are you on your way?"

"Yes, meet me at the entrance"

"Finally, I've been waiting forever" Jughead said when she arrived.

Betty chuckled, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Jug"

They got in together, closing the big doors behind them.

"So why exactly are we here? I know you don't need help with editing because we always do that during first period" Betty said smiling.

"Guess I lied to get you alone" he said looking away for a moment. Then he looked at Betty who looked right back at him with her big green eyes and a wide smile on her face and blushing cheeks.

"Jughead, thanks for getting me out of the house, I guess, who knows what I would've done if I was alone right now" Betty said and chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"I told Archie how i felt, but he...rejected me" she said, her eyes tearing. "But I'm fine, really"

Jughead looked at her, confused. How could someone reject her? Beautiful, smart and loving Betty? He tried to understand why his best friend would do that. He knew Betty had loved Archie since kindergarten, but he thought that Archie had a thing for Betty too.

Betty saw his confused face and said:

"He told me I was perfect, too good for him, and he knows I hate being called perfect. She looked at him, trying to see if he understood, but she just saw a dropping jaw.

"But it's fine," she quickly added. "I don't think I loved him anyways, I just loved the idea of him, you know, childhood friendship developing into a relationship, cheerleader and football player..."

Jughead stared at her, he was almost happy because of the rejection. That meant Archie was out of the way, maybe Betty would realize that the one who truly loved her was standing right beside her. He had loved her since kindergarten, just like Betty did Archie, but he always stepped back for Archie's sake. But now when he wasn't a part of this, he would show her that he loved her.

"I'm so sorry, Betty, you have loved him since forever, it's so sad that he rejected you, also, he did it in the worst way possible, by saying you're too good!? He should know you hate being 'too good' I cant believe him-"

"Juggie, calm down, I'm fine. I really am"

"No you're not, you have spent your entire life pining after him and he rejected you!"

"I cant make him love me, Jug"

"You're right, I'm sorry" he said looking down at his feet, ashamed of his reaction.

"But thanks for caring about me, for being here, instead of laughing at me like I was a failure and calling me names" she said and looked at him with a slight smile. He stopped.

"Of course betty, I would never do that, I love you" he said not realizing the mistake that just came out of his mouth. "I mean as a friend, of course" he said blushing.

She looked and at him with a spark in her eyes that made his heart ache. He couldn't keep his feelings hidden much longer. She smiled and sat down at a desk, never letting him out of sight and he felt his heart skip a beat.

"It's too early for you to be in a relationship, I mean after this heartbreak and all I bet you and Veronica have hours of girl talk already planned" Jughead said looking away, he couldn't stand looking into her eyes.

"Juggie, what are you suggesting? Me and you, dating? I mean what would Archie say, if i suddenly started dating his best friend right after he rejected me?" she said. "Not that we would" she added.

He had to restrain himself to not kiss her when he heard her soft voice talking about them dating.

"Betty I'm sorry if this sounds weird, but i know you're not the perfect girl next door that you portray yourself as, you go deeper than that, much deeper, and i know that because i look past your smile everyday. You're not perfect, but to me, you shouldn't be."

Jughead words made something inside Betty drop, she thought everyone saw her as perfect, which she didn't want to be. But Jughead saw her as the girl she actually was, a girl with problems that no one except he could solve, and with a darkness inside of her, that made her do crazy things, and she saw that now. He had been the one all along, not that red headed boy she had longed for for so long. Betty stood up and cupped his face in her hands.

"Jughead, why did you never tell me?"

"Because i knew you loved Archie, and I didn't want to ruin anything" he said quietly.

"As i said, i loved the _idea_ of Archie"

"But i didn't know that then"

Jughead looked into her big, beautiful eyes, and almost got lost in them, but then she let go of him, laughed at something and walked towards the door. He didn't try to stop her, even though he desperately wanted to because he'd support whatever decision she'd make, and if it was to leave him, he would let her.

"Sorry, Jug, but you're right, its too early. It's been barely an hour since my childhood dreams got crushed" she said and opened the door halfway. He nodded slowly, holding back tears.

"Just know that I'm always here if you need me"

Betty looked at him with a forced smile and chuckled.

"Walk me home?"


	2. Stay

Chapter 2

Jughead looked at the girl walking next to him, the soft features in her face and her green eyes. She was beautiful and she had just gotten rejected by her childhood crush. She noticed him staring and smiled at him, a smile he couldn't get enough of. He was walking Betty Cooper home after meeting at the blue and gold. He was also walking the love of his life, but Betty didn't know that, yet.

"How's FP doing?" Betty said trying to break the awkwardness from before around them.

"He's recovering, i think, well, I _hope_ " Jughead said slightly smiling at Betty's try to make things less uncomfortable, while really it just thickened the awkwardness. But Jughead didn't feel awkward, he was calm, happy, because he got to walk betty home. Without Archie.

"That's great, Jughead, that's a step in the right direction!" Betty said with a smile that could light up the whole town, and that spark in her eyes, that made it hard for him to concentrate. Betty suddenly stopped and he realized they were standing on her front porch.

"Thanks for walking me home, Jug" she said smiling. She smiled all the time around him, and she didn't even notice that.

Jughead chuckled.

"Of course, Juliet, I didn't want the big bad wolf to take you" he said with a fake worried face and a high pitched voice.

Betty laughed and Jughead was satisfied with making her laugh. He saw that spark in her eyes again, making it impossible for him not to kiss her. He looked into her eyes, and kissed her. Betty was surprised first but then she kissed him back. They stayed like that for a while, and when their lips finally lefts each other she smiled at him.

"You don't care if i say its too early right now, do you?" She said with a smirk on her face.

"Nah, I don't, but if you had pulled away from me, i would"

"Oh Juggie, thanks again for walking me home, text me when you get home, okay?"

"Yeah sure"

Jughead almost ran back to FP's trailer to text her again. He was all bubbly and happy when his father walked out of the bedroom. Sober, surprisingly.

"Hey kiddo, how was your date?" He said teasingly.

"There was no date, dad, we edited some articles" Jughead said, rolling his eyes at his dad.

"Oh man, then why did the one and only Alice Cooper, text _me,_ that I should keep my son away from her daughters lips?" FP said, shaking his head slowly.

Oh god. Alice had seen the kiss they shared on her porch. He was so embarrassed that he almost fell backwards.

"Sorry dad, it just happened-"

"Son, I'm proud of you. Now you don't have to complain about loving her to me"

Jughead smiled at his father before remembering that he had to text Betty.

"Hey Betts, I'm home now"

"Going to sleep?"

"Nah, we can talk if you want"

"I cant, it'll make me miss you even more"

"But i can come over"

"You just got home, Jug, I cant make you come back"

"Okay, but i cant promise I wont come"

"Goodnight Jug"

Betty sat in her bed, one part of her was waiting for Jughead, one part waiting for sleep. Then she heard a tap on her window. It was Jughead. She smiled at him and got up to open the window for him.

"So you came after all" Betty said laughing.

"Yep, seems Ike it" Jughead said.

Betty laughed again, louder this time, he started to notice how happy and quirky she became in his presence. He liked her laugh, no, he loved it, he loved all of her, every last inch of her. But he couldn't say that to her face, he was too scared of the response. Betty looked at him with her big green eyes, with that spark that made him all warm and soft inside.

"Are you sure mr. I-rejected-you-but-you-can't-love-someone-else won't see us?"

"I'm sure, I texted him, but he didn't answer"

"I don't trust that, but oh well, I wont leave now" Jughead said, climbing into the light pink room.

He looked at Betty, desperately wanting to kiss her. Betty sat down in her bed, patting the mattress next to her, asking him to sit down. He sat down and she put her arms around him, kissing him on the cheek.

"Can you stay here tonight?" She said with puppy eyes. "Please?"

"Would Alice like that?" He said. "I think she would kill me if she found me in your bed, even if we weren't doing anything.

Betty sighed. Her mother made everything impossible.

"You're right, but can you stay until i fall asleep?

"Sure, but it means little to no talking" he said with an over the top strict voice, impersonating Alice.

Betty chuckled at his attempt at being like her mother, but nodded, he was right. If they were talking, she would never fall asleep. Betty laid down and pulled the covers up to her ears. Jughead looked at her, she was adorable. She reached for his hand, holding it firmly.

It didn't take more than a few minutes before she fell asleep, so he carefully removed his hand from hers, and as quiet as possible opened her window and climbed down the ladder. That's when he saw a face i Archie's window. It was Archie. Jughead climbed down and walked to the Andrews property. Before even knocking on the door Archie opened it.

"What the hell were you doing in Betty Cooper's room at 11 pm?!" Archie asked while intensely staring at his best friend.

"We were working on some stuff for the blue and gold" Jughead said trying to get out of this awkward situation.

"You know she's _mine_ " Archie said still staring at Jughead. "So get the hell away from her"

"You're talking like she's your possession," Jughead said. "And by the way, _you_ rejected _her_ , Archie"

Archie looked at Jughead like he was an awful thing, and almost hit him, but Jughead just walked away, avoiding physical contact.

 **I just realized that some parts of this chapter resembles other ones quite a bit. But I don't have time to rewrite this whole thing. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Please

Chapter 3

On the way home Jughead was worried that this was the end of him and Archie's friendship. He'd never reacted this way, but on the other hand, Jughead had never kissed Betty. Was Betty worth their friendship? Yes, of course she was, but Archie had been his friend since kindergarten, was he really ready to give that up for a girl?

"Hey Jug, I'm sorry, okay? It was a shit thing to do and Betty is free to choose whoever she wants to"

Oh Archie, he thinks he can do whatever he wants and just say sorry for it. No, he wouldn't forgive him this time, not yet. Eventually, but not yet.

He opened the front door to his fathers trailer, just to see him unconscious on the couch with a beer bottle i his hand. This wasn't what Jughead needed right now. With tears rolling down his cheeks, he slammed the door and ran all the way to Archie's house.

He'd really believed it when FP told him he was going to change things, that's why it hurt even worse.

Before knocking on the Andrews door, he glanced over to Betty's backyard, looking after that ladder he used to climb up to her window a couple hours ago. Everything had happened so fast, he'd kissed Betty, and she'd kissed him back. He longed for her to text him, to talk to him, to be near him.

"Hey, are you awake?"

The light in Bettys room instantly turned on, letting him know she was. He sneaked into her yard, found the ladder and climbed up to her window.

"Jughead, hey, how are you, i saw you walking away from Archie before, did you guys fight?" She said, looking at him, trying to find clues in his expressions.

"Yeah, kind of. He told me that he- never mind, actually" Jughead was smart enough not to tell her, Archie was her best friend too.

Betty didn't stop looking at him, but now she smiled.

"Juggie, I'm glad you came back."

He blushed and smirked at her.

"It was a very hard decision" he said. "Extremely"

Betty chuckled.

"Well do you want to stay?" She said and twisted her hair around her fingers.

"Does mama cooper approve?"

"Well, I don't really care, when you left i pretty much woke up immediately."

"But I don't want my dad getting texts from her telling me to stay away from you."

She chuckled again.

"You're right, we shouldn't test the limits, I don't want my mom to find you in my bed."

She looked at him, he was beautiful, more than Archie ever was, and he probably liked her.

Jughead noticed her staring.

"Betty, I've been meaning to say this, but-" he stopped talking when he heard footsteps outside her door.

"You know what, I've got to go, sorry." Jughead turned away and climbed down as fast as he could, before Betty could stop him.

He walked home, again, this time ignoring his dad. If Betty had liked him just a little before, she probably didn't now.

Jughead easily overthought things, even simple stuff, like this. He knew he was overthinking, but he couldn't help himself. He really loved Betty, so if he messed something up, he would hate himself.

He peeled the covers off the bed, and turned the light off.

All night he dreamed about Betty, but they weren't good dreams. He dreamt that she hated him, which is one of his biggest fears. He jumped out of the bed, and searched for his phone in the dark, he really needed to text her.

"Hey, sorry it's late, but can you come early to school tomorrow?"

She texted back immediately.

"Hey, don't worry about it, but why should I come early?"

"Edit some articles for the paper?"

"Sure, see you at 6"

At 6? It was already 2 am, he needed to get some sleep.

"Jughead!" Betty said with that amazing smile on her face. Jughead almost forgot to answer.

"Hey betts, good morning"

She smiled at him and opened the door.

"What are we working on?" He said, sitting down at one of the chairs.

"You don't know?" She said, her smile even wider. "You invited me, shouldn't _you_ know? Is there even anything to edit?"

"Uh, I don't think so, I'm sorry"

She chuckled, she had that spark in her eyes again, he had to restrain himself from touching her.

She noticed him blushing.

"Well why don't we just chill here for a bit? No one will be coming for a while"

"Sure"

She sat down beside him, she closed her eyes and let out a loud sigh.

"I didn't get any sleep last night" she said, her eyes still closed.

"Me neither, maybe a couple hours of sleepless sleep."

She chuckled.

"I think I will take a nap"

"What, now?"

"Yes, will you hold me?"

 **I've been busy with school and stuff, but i think I'll be able to write a couple more chapters. Thanks for reading!**


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